


Comfort

by EclecticIsMyMiddleName



Category: One Piece
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Domestic Fluff, Early Mornings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Honeymoon, Hurt/Comfort, Just Married, Light Angst, M/M, Married Couple, Nightmares, Post-Canon, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, Storms, also there is one (1) dirty joke, but i didn't think it warranted a change in rating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26054455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EclecticIsMyMiddleName/pseuds/EclecticIsMyMiddleName
Summary: Sanji wakes up from a nightmare and Usopp comforts him.
Relationships: Usopp/Vinsmoke Sanji
Comments: 14
Kudos: 81





	Comfort

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kiite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiite/gifts).



> This work is a gift for my dear friend, kiite!! Go read their stuff, it's very good and you will not regret it!! ^v^
> 
> Also, thank you to Vandereer on ao3 (and nervous-screaming and Trickstermelon) for beta-ing and looking it over for me!! ^v^

_Black._

_Sanji could see nothing but the color black. Surrounding him on all sides. Suffocating him._

_The color filled his lungs until he couldn’t breathe._

_Blinded his eyes until he couldn’t see._

_Deafened him until he couldn’t hear a thing except the steady drip, drip, drip of water leaking in from somewhere._

_A sudden_ **_clang!_ ** _echoed close by, the darkness masking whether the source was near or far. Footsteps followed, sharp and decisive. They came to a halt a few feet in front of Sanji (were they in front? The lack of light made left, right, up, down, forward and back all indistinguishable)._

_Nevertheless, Sanji felt his head turn towards the sound. A second passed and the patter of smaller, lighter footsteps appeared. Nasty little laughter accompanied them. When they, too, came to a stop, something instinctive seized Sanji._

_His pulse raced, the rush of blood roaring in his ears._

_A cold sweat soaked him, making his ratty clothes stick to his body like a second skin._

_Adrenaline made his heart pound like a panicked animal._

_A light erupted in the darkness - a lantern, held aloft by a huge hand. When his eyes adjusted, he recognized the giant humanoid shape of a tyrant. But it was the four, littler shadows of his children that made Sanji realize he was exactly that-_

_-a panicking animal, trapped in a cage while his tormentors sized him up with wicked, gleaming eyes._

_Three of the four Vinsmoke children approached, weapons in hand and malicious laughter spilling from their grinning mouths._

_The fourth child stayed behind. Ever the obedient daughter, she brandished her own weapon of a passive smile as her brothers grew nearer._

_Sanji opened his mouth, but no words came forth. Dull pain throbbed in his neck, vertical lines suddenly marring his vision. A tremendous weight engulfed his head, his spine curving to support it until he found himself lying on the ground._

_Completely at the mercy of his tormentors._

_One of them broke off from the others, hurrying closer and wielding a bat. Raising his arms above his head, he readied the weapon to strike. The air itself whistled with the unnatural strength he put behind his swing, and the bat came down-_

And Sanji’s eyes snapped open.

The bed squeaked with how fast he sat up. Though his stomach was empty, it rolled like bucking waves. Sweat clung to his skin, chilling him as it hit the night air. Goosebumps scattered over his scalp and down the back of his neck. A whitewashed wall greeted him as his eyes stared at nothing, too busy watching phantom memories flash before them.

The soft creak of the bed barely registered in his ears as his bedmate sat up beside him. A gentle hand on his shoulder made Sanji yelp. Startled, he flailed and scrambled to the edge of the bed.

Whipping around towards the hand’s owner, Sanji met the concerned expression of Usopp. “Babe, you okay?”

Sanji’s heart was still hammering in his chest, his breath coming far too fast. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he gave a weak nod. “Y-Yeah. Had a nightmare. Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

“‘A nightmare’?” Usopp repeated, scooting closer. “Oh Sanji, of course I’m gonna worry! Have you met me? I’m the _king_ of worrying!”

A little half-laugh escaped Sanji’s lips, despite himself. “I thought you were the king of snipers?”

A smile broke out on Usopp’s face, easing away a bit of the concern lining his eyes and mouth. “That, too!”

As Usopp wrapped an arm around Sanji’s shoulders, the blond’s anxiety faded. After a few moments of comfortable silence, his breathing slowed down. When he leaned against his partner, his heart rate returned to normal. The warmth and rough texture of Usopp’s palm rubbing up and down Sanji’s arm soothed the goosebumps away. A kiss to Sanji’s temple had his eyes fluttering shut with no shadows to be found.

“Feeling better, sweetheart?” Usopp asked softly, his hand coming to rest at Sanji’s shoulder.

“Mhm. Thank you, darling,” Sanji replied, a small smile on his lips as Usopp gave his shoulder a squeeze. “I feel much better now.”

Usopp took a breath, then paused. “...Was it them again?” 

All at once, tension returned to Sanji’s body. Straightening up, he pulled a little out of Usopp’s embrace and turned his head. “Yeah. It was. All of them, except for her.”

“Your mother?” Usopp guessed, grazing his fingertips over the back of Sanji’s hand. “At least this one wasn’t about her. I know those ones are...much harder for you to bounce back from.”

Sanji nodded, swallowing against a lump forming in his throat.

Usopp reached up, tucking his fingers beneath Sanji’s chin and turning his head. In the low light that drifted in from the curtained window, Usopp could see the pain etched on Sanji’s face. Thin, little lines framed the corners of his mouth. Though his blue eye was fixed on his lap, a wrinkle had formed between his brows. 

“C’mere, babe,” Usopp mumbled, moving his hand to cup the back of Sanji’s neck and pulling him close again. One hand remained on his neck while the other rested on the blond’s lower back. Sanji hesitated only a moment before burying his face in Usopp’s neck. “You don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to. But it’s okay now. They can’t hurt you anymore.”

At that, something in Sanji broke.

A sob tore through him before he could stop it. His arms flew around Usopp’s middle, gripping tight. A headache began to pound in his skull as hot tears blurred his vision. Squeezing his eyes shut, he felt them spill down his cheeks. He knew they were falling right onto Usopp’s t-shirt, but he couldn’t bring himself to move from this position. 

There was an ugly wobble in Sanji’s voice as he said, “I-I’m sorry! I sh-shouldn’t still be crying over them! It was _so_ long ago!”

“Shh, sweetheart, it’s okay,” Usopp cooed, the hand on Sanji’s neck rubbing soft circles into his skin. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s natural to still be upset about what happened. I can’t _imagine_ going through what you did!” A rare edge found its way into his voice. “They’re monsters.”

“They were fucking-!” The word got stuck in Sanji’s throat, and it hurt to force it past his lips. _“-terrifying!_ Every day, nothing but a shitty, freezing cell a-and-!”

“Whoa, whoa! Easy, sweetheart, easy,” Usopp interrupted, moving his hand down to rub Sanji’s back. “Don’t work yourself back up, okay?”

Sanji swallowed hard, feeling like an unseen iron grip was curled around his neck. “I feel like I can’t breathe!”

Immediately, Usopp pulled back and framed Sanji’s face in his hands. Holding his gaze, Usopp said, “Sanji, just take a breath for me, okay? Do it with me. In-” He inhaled through his nose and Sanji did the same. “-and out.” They exhaled at the same time, and Sanji’s shoulders slumped. “Is that better?”

“A little,” Sanji mumbled, breaking the eye contact to look down at Usopp’s collar instead. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Usopp replied, a small smile tugging on his lips. “Everybody freaks out sometimes. _I_ would know! I probably have a panic attack at least once a day.” 

Sanji snickered softly, his distressed expression fading.

Encouraged, Usopp continued, “It’s like clockwork at this point! Get up, eat breakfast, get Luffy out of whatever trouble he’s gotten himself into. Then have lunch, a panic attack, eat a lovely dinner-” He leaned in and planted a kiss right on Sanji’s cheek. “-made by none other than the _best_ chef in the _entire_ world-” He pulled back just enough to see the blush on his partner’s face. “-and then go to bed and fall asleep next to my _beloved-!”_

“‘Beloved’?” Sanji snorted, his broadening smile softening the roll of his eyes. “Did you steal that from me when I wasn’t looking?”

“Then how about I call you, ‘my dearest love’?” Usopp suggested, wagging his eyebrows. “Perhaps, ‘love of my life’?”

“Now you’re getting cheesy!” Sanji scoffed, grabbing Usopp’s wrists and yanking them away. He angled his head so his bangs would cover part of his face, though it didn’t do much to conceal the way his blush was deepening. “And that’s coming from _me!”_

“Oh, then what about-?” Usopp started, the mischief in his tone mellowing out to a tender note. Freeing his wrist, he reached up and brushed Sanji’s hair from his eyes. Tucking the blond locks behind Sanji’s ear, Usopp slid his fingertips down to Sanji’s jaw. “‘My prince’? Is that one too much?”

In the time since Sanji had awoken from his nightmare, the sun had steadily risen. What were once mere moonbeams to light up the room had become the first rays of the sun. It bathed the room in a gentle enough glow to allow Usopp to see the affectionate smile on Sanji’s lips.

Meeting his gaze, Sanji looked at Usopp with such warmth that the sniper’s heart threatened to burst. “Coming from you, it’s perfect!”

 _“Aw,_ Sanji!” Usopp exclaimed, flushing up to his ears with a bashful smile. “You’re too sweet!”

Sanji tilted his head and leaned forward, pressing a brief kiss to his partner’s lips. “That’s for putting up with my shitty nightmares.”

Usopp’s smile faltered. “Sanji, I don’t ‘put up with them’. That makes it sound bad. I support you when you need me because I know you’d do the same for me.”

“Of course I’d do the same for you!” Sanji replied, cupping Usopp’s face in his hands. “I love you.”

Usopp’s smile returned. “I love you, too.”

Sanji broke into a grin, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He couldn’t resist darting forward and stealing another kiss from Usopp. “I’ll never get used to hearing you say that, y’know? Makes me feel like I’m on cloud nine!”

“Well, that would be appropriate, wouldn’t it?” Usopp remarked, chuckling as he pulled back to gesture at the hotel room they were in. “Seeing as how we’re staying in Skypiea?”

The whitewashed walls were decorated with painted pictures of flowers and other flora native to the sky islands. The bed sheets bore a swirling cloud pattern, the matching pillow cases crumpled from use. On the nightstand beside the bed sat a tall vase with vividly-colored flowers. Around the base was tied a note, the curving letters spelling out, _“Congratulations!”_

Sanji took a glance around the room, then settled his gaze back on Usopp. Bringing Usopp’s left hand to his lips, Sanji placed a kiss on the ring on his finger. “Yeah, _honeymooning_ in Skypiea!”

Usopp’s eyes drifted down to the matching ring on Sanji’s left hand. “Feels a bit unreal, doesn’t it?”

“You’re telling me,” Sanji replied, lacing their fingers together while his other hand cupped the back of Usopp’s neck. “I can’t believe how lucky I am!”

A rumbling noise interrupted them, and the pale glow that filled the room began to dim. Without a word, Sanji gestured for Usopp to stay where he was, then got to his feet. He padded over to the window, drawing back the curtain with a frown. Another rumble echoed in the air and his frown deepened.

“Ah, shit. Looks like it’s going to rain?” Sanji remarked, running his free hand through his hair. “There goes our plans for a hike after breakfast!”

Soft footsteps behind him were his only warning before arms wrapped around his waist. Usopp’s cheek was warm as it pressed between Sanji’s shoulder blades. “That’s okay. We’ll find something else to do until it passes! I could regale you with a story about my many adventures!”

“And I could make a game out of guessing which ones are true and which ones are bullshit,” Sanji replied, chuckling as Usopp scoffed.

“My own husband doesn’t even want to hear my stories?” Usopp huffed, a lighthearted grin on his face despite his words. “Just wait until I tell Sogeking about this!”

Sanji barely suppressed a laugh and put his hands on top of Usopp’s forearms. “Going to tattle on me?”

Before Usopp could reply, lightning crackled across the sky. It was gone in a second, and then the telltale roar of thunder came. Another flash of lightning split the air. Sanji tensed as the arms around him tightened their grip.

Gently, Sanji murmured, “Darling? Are you okay?”

Usopp cleared his throat, loosening his arms a little. “Y-Yeah, I just uh, don’t have great memories of the last time we were on this island during a storm.”

“When I got hit by that shitty long-eared bastard’s lightning?” Sanji guessed, feeling Usopp nodded against his back. Sanji sighed softly and turned around in Usopp’s arms. “Oh my dear, there’s no reason to be worried now. That asshole is long gone from here.” He grinned, joking as he added, “And I’m not about to go running outside to refresh my memory about how it feels to be struck by a damn lightning bolt!”

“I know, but still,” Usopp mumbled, his eyes falling down. Sanji’s smile faded, and he brought his hand to Usopp’s cheek. Immediately, Usopp pressed a kiss to his palm. “I was so worried that day, y’know?”

“I know.”

“You were so self-sacrificial!” Usopp exclaimed, bringing his gaze back up to Sanji’s. A chastising little frown pulled down his lips as he continued, “You _still_ are sometimes, y’know?”

“I know,” Sanji replied, rubbing the nape of his neck with his free hand.

Any hard edges in Usopp’s expression melted away with a sigh. He closed the space between them, pulling his husband back into a hug. He rested his chin on Sanji’s shoulder as the blond returned the embrace.

A drop of rain plunked against the glass, then another and another until the rain was coming down in a drizzle. Through a crack in the curtains, Usopp watched rivulets of it stream down the window pane. The steady pitter-patter of the rain washed away any lingering negativity.

“Hey.” Usopp pulled back so he could look Sanji in the face, giving him a warm smile. “Let’s not think about the past. That’s over and done with!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than another bolt of lightning lit up the early morning sky. Usopp flinched on instinct and Sanji was tugging him closer in an instant.

“Why don’t we go back to bed until this passes?” Sanji suggested, rubbing a hand up and down Usopp’s back. “I could make us some coffee?”

A blush cropped up on Usopp’s cheeks and he nodded. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”

Sanji closed the curtain, folding one flap over the other so no light would leak in. Then he guided his husband back to their bed, left a kiss on his forehead, and headed towards the coffee maker in one corner of the room. Soon the rich, warm smell of roasting coffee mingled with the sharp scent of cigarette smoke.

Usopp laid down on the bed while he waited, his expression pinching with every roll of thunder. The _drip, drip, drip_ of the coffee into the decanter could barely be heard over the noise outside. Getting fed up, Usopp grabbed a pillow and shoved it over his head. It muffled the noise long enough for him to drift into a light slumber. When a hand on his arm was shaking him awake, he let the pillow slide off with a sound of confusion.

“Coffee’s done,” Sanji announced, smiling as he held out a mug. Steam curled from the edge of it, fluttering in the air before dissipating. In Sanji's other hand, he held a mug for himself. The smoldering cigarette between his lips had drifted to the corner of his mouth. “And I think the storm is letting up, too?”

“That’s good,” Usopp mumbled, sitting up. Taking the mug into his hand, he said, “Thanks, babe.”

“No problem,” Sani replied, using his now-free hand to pluck his cigarette from his mouth. Darting forward, he left a kiss on his cheek. “You were there for me when I had my nightmare. And I’m here for you during this shitty storm.”

A smile crossed Usopp’s lips before he tipped the mug up, taking a sip. The smooth, silky flavor tumbled down his throat and left a tang on the finish. When he brought the mug down, his smile grew wider. “Lots of cream and sugar, just the way I like it!”

Sanji brought his mug to his lips. “I would hope I’d know by now how you take it.”

Usopp snickered into his drink. “You know I wasn’t ‘taking it’ last night-”

Sanji nearly choked on his coffee. Coughing, he set the mug down on the nightstand so he could wipe his face with the back of his hand. While he recovered, Usopp laughed without shame.

“You’re such a little shit!” Sanji exclaimed, his grin betraying him.

Usopp made an exaggerated noise as if he were offended. “Why can’t you appreciate my sense of humor?” 

Before Sanji could answer, his alarm clock went off. “Oh, shit. Time to start breakfast for the crew.”

 _“No,_ don’t be a workaholic on our honeymoon!” Usopp whined, setting his mug down on the nightstand with a soft _thunk._ His hands flew to grip Sanji’s upper arm. “Stay in bed!”

“But it’s time to-”

“No, it’s not!” Usopp interrupted, throwing his hands up. “We’re literally on our _honeymoon!”_ Shifting closer, he wrapped his arms around Sanji’s shoulders. With a determined look on his face, he added, _“And_ you had a nightmare, so you deserve to slack off a bit! I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer!”

“Listen, I can-” Sanji yawned, then cursed under his breath. “-I can get up. It’s fine-”

Usopp shook his head. “Nope! You. Rest. Now.”

“But darling, I gotta-” Sanji started, cutting himself off when his husband looked at him with his best puppy dog eyes. Sighing, Sanji scooted closer until their thighs were touching. Then he looped an arm around Usopp’s middle. “I suppose I can stay a bit longer?”

Beaming, Usopp buried his face in Sanji’s neck and chuckled. “You can’t resist me!”

“Nope. It seems that I’m a total goner at this point,” Sanji remarked, taking a drag of his cigarette and aiming the smoke towards the ceiling. “And y’know what? I’m not so sure that I mind.”

“That was sappy as hell.”

“You love it.”

“Yeah, I do.”

The rain plinking against the glass slowed down little by little. Soon, it stopped altogether, and the shadow of the storm lifted. Comforting morning sun once again seeped into the room, casting everything in a soft glow.

Usopp sat up straighter. “Hey! Let’s watch the sunrise together!”

Sanji’s brows furrowed as his husband scampered to the edge of the bed. “But the sun’s almost up?”

“So what?” Usopp replied, grabbing his mug of coffee and angling himself towards the window. “Let’s enjoy the rest of it while we can!”

Smiling, Sanji nodded. Usopp turned to watch the sun as it rose, and heard Sanji’s footsteps on the floor. A few seconds later, the bed beside him dipped as Sanji sat. A blanket draped over Usopp’s shoulders and the bitter smell of the black coffee Sanji always drank hit his nose.

“Here, let’s share,” Usopp said, taking the corner of the blanket and holding it out. Sanji obliged, sitting closer until the blanket could cover the both of them. “There, now. Isn’t this nice?”

Sanji nodded, then brought his mug to his lips. “Mhm.”

As Usopp watched the sun, his smile never left his face. The pastel pinks, oranges, and deep blues of the lingering night sky blended together. Twinkling stars faded as the rising sun outshone them. Dark shadows clung to the tops of the clouds. The sunlight below painted the bottoms of the clouds in subtle shades of gold and carnation.

Sanji could see the creative cogs in his husband’s mind working. “You’re going to paint this sunrise later, aren’t you?”

“Of course!” Usopp said, as if it were obvious. He watched the remaining rain drops glint in the sun as they slipped down the window pane. “It’s beautiful!”

Sanji - having never taken his eyes off his husband - smiled in agreement. “Yeah, it is.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have a twitter if you wanna go follow me there!  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/EclecticWrites  
> My handle is @EclecticWrites.
> 
> I have a tumblr, too!!  
> Tumblr: eclecticwrites.tumblr.com


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